The fear of the Lord is not being scared of God. How can
we have intimacy with someone we are scared of? God's greatest passion
is to have close fellowship with us.

The person who fears God has nothing to hide. In
fact, he or she is scared to be away from God. King David had a holy
fear of God and still ran toward Him and said, "Search me, O God, and
know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me
that offends you" (Psalm 139:23-24, NLT).

To fear God means you give Him the place of glory, honor,
reverence, thanksgiving, praise, and preeminence He deserves. He holds
this position with us when we esteem Him and His desires over and above
our own or others'. You hate what He hates and love what He loves. You
passionately seek truth in your "inward parts."

Holy fear is manifested by our unconditional obedience to
Him, whether we understand what He is doing or not. When we properly
fear God, we know that we can't hide anything from Him.

We must allow the Word of God to penetrate deep into our
heart to judge our thought processes, attitudes, perceptions,
intentions and so forth—thus changing the way we behave.

We can't fool God by making a superficial acknowledgment
of the importance of pleasing and fearing Him but departing from it
when it isn't convenient. It must be a firm and never-changing
decision, for upon it hinges whether we are capable of growing into the
image of Jesus Christ.

If you don't truly fear God, you will grow distant from
Him. For this reason we are told: "The fear of the LORD is the
beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). And again: "Friendship with the
LORD is reserved for those who fear him. With them he shares the
secrets of his covenant" (vs. 25:14). The Lord will not reveal Himself
to those who lack holy fear. He must take preeminence in a person's
life in a deep-rooted heart decision: My life is not my own; it belongs to my Lord, Jesus Christ.

Marked by boldness and passion,John Beveredelivers
uncompromising truth through his award-winning curriculum and
best-selling books now available in over sixty languages. His newest
book is Extraordinary: The Life You're Meant to Live. More information is available at www.ExtraordinaryOnline.org.

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